Hackney Empire291 Mare Street,
Hackney, London, Greater London, E8 1EJ, United Kingdom
Dates/times in London time zone
Performers
| English Touring Opera | ||
| John Andrews | Conductor | |
| James Conway | Director | |
| Loren Elstein | Set Designer | |
| Guy Hoare | Lighting Designer | |
| English Touring Opera Orchestra | ||
| Elena Xanthoudakis | Soprano | Pia |
| Luciano Botelho | Tenor | Ghino Degli Armieri |
| Grant Doyle | Baritone | Nello Della Pietra |
| Catherine Carby | Mezzo-soprano | Rodrigo |
| John-Colyn Gyeantey | Tenor | Ubaldo |
| Craig Smith | Baritone | Lamberto |
| Piotr Lempa | Bass | Piero |
| Susanna Fairbairn | Mezzo-soprano | Bice |
Donizetti’s rarely performed Pia de’ Tolomei is drawn from an episode in Dante’s Divine Comedy in which a noblewoman is locked in a tower in the Maremma by her jealous husband, whose heart has been poisoned by a friend and kinsman – whose advances the innocent wife had rejected.
The characters are drawn with extraordinary intensity, and the two men in particular are reminiscent of Iago and Othello. This production, performed by an exceptional cast, should be a very special event.
New production, sung in Italian with English surtitles
